Summersville Sunday: Blocks 42 - 46

This is, I think, the penultimate 'I really must catch up with blogging about those Summersville blocks' posts.  I say 'think', because I might take a photo of all 49 blocks together and I don't know whether to do that for next weekend or the one after.  (It's probably just as well: the stories for each block are getting more far-fetched by the week!!)

You can find the other posts in the series here: blocks 1 - 4; blocks 5 - 8; blocks 9 - 12; blocks 13 - 16; blocks 17 - 20; blocks 21- 24; blocks 25 - 28; blocks 29 - 32; blocks 33 - 36; blocks 37 - 41.

The factory/mill in block 42 used similar colours to the old customs house in block 40 as they were built around the same time.  The original owner was a canny fella and realised that if his factory was built near the customs house, then he could build up a good relationship with the customs officer who would perhaps expedite the paperwork for the goods he was importing/exporting (or maybe turn a blind eye to his occasional under reporting of the tax owed on goods imported).  It also meant that the messenger lad didn't have far to run with his messages and so didn't wear out his shoe leather.  You might wonder why a mill owner concerned himself with the rate of wear on the messenger boy's shoes and you're right, it was unusual.  You see, as well as being a canny businessman, the mill owner was a kind-hearted soul (though he hid it well) and he knew that the lad's family depended on the pennies brought in from running messages.  His mam couldn't afford to buy him shoes (the lad's father died in an accident on the docks when a bale of cotton fell on him) and wouldn't allow him to set foot inside the mill to work as a piecer or scavenger, so the owner employed him as a messenger boy and included one pair of shoes per year as part of his wages.

The house in block 43 is owned by a frustrated gardener, whose only outside space is three window boxes, so she fills them to bursting with annuals and uses blocks of colour to great effect.  She'd love to move to a house with a garden (or even a back yard), but she needs to live in town and can't afford to move to a house with outside space.  It doesn't stop her dreaming though, and she plans to move to a cottage in the country when she retires, which will be soon.  She has her eye on the village in block 7 as they have applied for lottery funding to establish a garden on part of the village green to encourage wildlife (as well as giving the village a lovely focal point and meeting place) and the older members of the village have promised to help the school children set up a pond so they can go pond dipping; there are also rumours of a biennial open gardens event to raise funds for the church roof and ongoing village green maintenance.

The owner of the car in block 44 is the mother-in-law of one of the founding members of the multi-coloured car club and decided to celebrate her 80th birthday by having her car resprayed so she could join the club. She enjoys tootling round town and waving to everyone she passes; she particularly enjoys watching the reaction of newcomers to the town when they see her car going past.  (She's started a point-based game for the club: one point if they nudge the person next to them, two if they point, three if they rub their eyes and look again, four if they wave, and five if they take a photo and ten if that photo ends up on Instagram.  At the end of the year, the points are added up and the winning car gets a ten minute head start in the annual treasure hunt.)

The  house in block 45 was built by the mill owner and housed his overseer.  The council decided that all the buildings from that era should be painted in similar colours so that the town heritage trail would be easy for tourists to follow.  The modern office block thought it would copy but was given short shrift by the planning officer and told to repaint: once the weather fairs up, the repainting will commence (much to the dismay of the painter, who is not a fan of heights).

In the next town over, an identical building to that in block 45 has been painted in eye-catching  yellows in an attempt to brighten up a rather dreary town centre.  The building has an internal garden (you can just see a glimpse of it on the top floor) which can be accessed by residents and is, the architect hopes, the shape of things to come.

And here's this week's blocks all together:

Archie finally got to finish eating his hedgehog:

Aha, hedgehog nose, your time has come.

When can I eat it?  Now?

I'll just introduce myself...

Now?  You're sure?

Thanks for popping in!